NASA Spacecraft Observe Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS as It Approaches Mars
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The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was first discovered on July 1, 2025. Since then, NASA scientists and engineers have been working to collect as much informat...

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was first discovered on July 1, 2025. Since then, NASA scientists and engineers have been working to collect as much information as possible on this rare visitor — only the third interstellar object ever detected in our solar system.

Comet 3I/ATLAS is making a grand tour, passing at high speed inside the orbits of Mars and Jupiter then zooming away, never to return. The comet’s track offers a rare opportunity for observations — and images — to be taken by multiple NASA spacecraft positioned around the solar system.

The comet, originally detected by ground-based telescopes, has already been captured by NASA’s Hubble, Webb, and SPHEREx space telescopes. More robotic explorers will get a chance to make observations as 3I/ATLAS makes its closest pass by Mars on Oct. 3 at a distance of about 17 million miles, or 28 million kilometers. The comet then passes behind the Sun as seen from Earth, but spacecraft like NASA’s Europa Clipper, en route to the Jupiter system, may be able to observe it. By early December, 3I/ATLAS once again will be within view of telescopes on Earth. The comet makes its closest pass to Jupiter in March 2026 before continuing onward out of our solar system and farther into interstellar space.

3I/ATLAS poses no threat to Earth.

  • SpecialSetOfSieves@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    1 month ago

    Of course, all of us here are concerned that the filthy extrasolar ETs may have arranged this close cometary flyby of Mars… in order to launch an invasion.

    I told NASA, I told them before the rovers launched!, that Percy and MSL should be carrying much higher wattage lasers. I guess it’s fine for the Perseverance team to “sample” a few sandworms so that the drivers can relieve their boredom, although I think they need to improve their aim - still, it’s a lot more humane than what Curiosity does to felines. But now, even before we can return Percy’s samples to Earth, it might just be aliens.

    No, I don’t have a source for this; what, don’t you trust me? Come on, this is 2025, we all know this is anything but a normal year…